Archives: Events

Under the auspices of the Institut Français.

Duration: 90 minutes.

I WANT A COUNTRY
By Andreas Flourakis

There is no future for us here.

A group of young people feel they have no alternative but to leave their country. They come together to think, and dream of a new world.

Andreas Flourakis’ interdisciplinary work, written during Greece’s severe debt crisis, imagines a chorus of Greek youth as they lay out a manifesto of yearning for the homeland of their dreams. Will their desires come true?

The show features an international cast of FONACT actors and is performed in English.

Grandma, One Day Everything Will Die
(A performance about the end of the world)
Directed by: Giorgos Pavlou

Grandma has dementia. The family tries to help. They do everything they can. Everyone attempts to remind her of something from the “old days,” to shake her memory, to keep her alive through the past. But as they try to awaken her memories, it becomes clear that the past is already dead—nothing from Grandma’s world exists anymore.

Could it be that the end of the world is constantly repeating, and we are never there to witness it?

Giorgos Pavlou, along with last year’s graduates of the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory, presents a performance about the end of the world.

The theatrical text Grandma, One Day Everything Will Die emerged from the course Creative Writing – Performance Dramaturgy (Drama School of the Athens Conservatory, 2023-24).

Duration: 65′

With a double cast:

• Artemis Valtzaki performs on March 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25
• Danae Georgoula performs on March 31, April 1, 7, 8, 14, 15

“CARNAGE”
by Makis Semertzidis

The human soul often remains bound—by psychological trauma, societal expectations, fear of truth and  of one’s real self. It feels as if you are watching life through an indistinct, rigid, transparent wall, longing in vain to tear down what keeps you at a distance, while others live a life you cannot reach.

What is the first act of violence? What are the stages of this evolving brutality that shape the formation of a young person? The perception of violence takes on different dimensions. It is not only physical but also existential—where the refusal to mature, the suppression of identity, and unhealed wounds shape life as decisively as fate itself.

In this play, we explore the trapped self—Sebastian, an eternal child in a man’s body, and Violet, rewriting reality to maintain control. These two, almost archetypal figures, are transformed when a new force disrupts their fragile balance. Each character is imprisoned, confined by societal barriers and personal ghosts, seeking refuge in fantasy, only to discover that illusion is both sanctuary and trap.

“After the End”
by Dennis Kelly

The psychological thriller by award-winning British playwright Dennis Kelly will be performed at PLYFA from March 5th, every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:00, directed by Anna Micheli, starring two outstanding young actors, Foivos Papakostas and Katerina Spyrou.

Dennis Kelly, one of the most intriguing voices in contemporary British drama, is highly regarded in Greece. His plays, such as Orphans, DNA, Osama the Hero, Debris, Love and Money, Girls and Boys, and the musical Matilda (based on Roald Dahl’s book), have been staged with great success. After the End, written in 2005, proves to be prophetic—a psychological thriller about power dynamics and the ways people manipulate each other in extreme circumstances.

Synopsis:
When the world, society, and the rules you knew have collapsed, what do you do? When stepping outside means death, how do you survive? How slowly does time pass within four walls? How quickly do relationships and people change when they only have each other?
Louise and Mark are colleagues. A nuclear explosion has forced them into an underground shelter, where they must remain until radiation levels drop and it is safe to leave. In this forced confinement, their best and worst instincts emerge. A complex relationship of intimacy, manipulation, and abuse unfolds through the minutes, hours, and days they spend together, isolated from the outside world. How much of themselves can they bear to lose? Or perhaps—how much can they reveal?

Director’s Note:
I first came across After the End 15 years ago while studying directing in London. Back then, I saw a well-crafted play with three-dimensional characters and a gripping plot full of twists. The dystopian premise of forced confinement due to an external threat seemed like a work of fiction. After our recent collective experience, I now see the play differently. A confined space. Two people—a man and a woman—forced to coexist for an uncertain period, trapped in a shelter. The threat of death if they step outside. These elements now feel unsettlingly familiar. After the End compels us to question who we are within the “normality” of our world, how we present ourselves to others, and how swiftly we shed our identities when survival becomes the priority and fear dominates. Another crucial question the play raises—one that has preoccupied me a lot recently—is how an abusive relationship begins. What are the tactics, the words, the comments, the restrictions? How is manipulation built? How does someone slowly become trapped in a controlling dynamic with no apparent escape? At what point does it become clear who the perpetrator is and who the victim? Are we who we think we are, or are we defined by our actions? Mark and Louise seem to embody two opposing sides of the same civilized world—two contrasting social and political perspectives. Stripped of any connection to society or civilization, they are forced to confront themselves and each other. — Anna Micheli

Content Warning: Some scenes contain intense violence
Duration: 90 minutes (no intermission)
Suitable Age: 18+

“Je reviens”
A Toast to Undelivered Loves

No.
My harmonious, sweet ocea—
Neither.
My dear beloved.
Or rather,
Incredible baby!
My breath.
My man.
My crown.
No. No. No.
Isn’t a single word truly worth it?

Do not call me “beloved” if I am not, do not send me “warm regards” if you do not mean them. Sing me a song. Perhaps I will understand more. Is that too much to ask?

Outside, drums, trumpets, choral music pierces the silence. Saint-Saëns, Holst, Baltas, van der Laag, Polemi intertwine with the words of Seferis, Sikelianos, Rimbaud, Verlaine, a Portuguese nun. Or are they mine?

I wanted to sign off with “yours forever.” Nothing could be more wrong. Better to say je reviens. In a song. Will this phrase become the permanent epilogue of the letters I never sent?

Let’s drink to that!

The renÉssence Vocal Ensemble is an a cappella vocal group founded in 2019 in Corfu by seven young musicians, all graduates of the Ionian University. Since 2021, it has been based in Athens, where it creates concerts and performances, combining repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century with elements of speech and movement.

The ensemble has performed at major events, such as the European Youth Days and the Sacré Sacred Music Events. Recently, it presented the performance Je reviens in two sold-out shows at the Baggeion Hotel and recorded the piece A Dream by Manthos Damigos.

Duration: 70 minutes (without intermission)
Suitable for ages: 15+